Cybertruck...or how NOT to build a vehicle

[wizard69]

I actually liked the presentation. As for the windows everything eventually breaks.

as for the truck itself, I love the concept of an electric truck. The problem isn’t the motors and really comes down to one thing, that is the batteries. They currently are not suited for long trips and might never be. What we need is a truck with a small nuclear reactor for a power source. That would solve the battery problem.

what this truck would be good for is the contractor handling local jobs day in and out. In that regard this truck would put money in the bank for anybody using the truck. The savings in maintenance and fuel would be huge.

[old kodger]

JUST SO! AND THEY GET PICKY ABOUT IT TOO

[Hoosiersmoker]

The truck on the left has no chance. It could have had a 5 mph rolling start and the Tesla would have ripped it backwards instantly. The pickup has to get to RPMs to generate the necessary torque to pull hard. The Tesla has 100% torque at 0 motor rpm. Not to mention the weight transfer advantage. You can see the Tesla "squat" as soon as it took the load. The pickup being a Ford was the biggest problem though

[animal12]

probably not

[old kodger]

To make it fair, maybe it should have been a contest between a similarly weighted steam vehicle they also turn out max torque at zero revs

[krefior]

I think not even being in 4 wheel drive on the Ford is probably the biggest unfairness, The Tesla is truly all wheel drive, and the front Axle is not even engaged on the truck, so 1 wheel drive.

But maybe that's the point, the Tesla is always true 4 wheel drive. I wonder if I'll ever be able to get past the fact it looks like something from a video game...

I really rue the day where there's a Tesla supercharger close to my favorite camp ground, no let's not do that. Wonder how much a "I ran out of juice" tow is from 13,000' up on Mosquito pass? Probably more than a years worth of Gas...

[rallen]

I (an electro-mechanical tech) watched the unveiling video with my brother-in-law (a real manufacturing engineer), and both of us thought the same things: they saved production/sale costs by making it planar, stainless (no paint), aero (fugly shape), and light (military grade minimalism). I've seen some breakdowns on projected operating costs compared to a Ford F-150. Worst case the Cybertruck saves $18K over 5 years, best case over $19K. With those savings, I forsee a lot of companies buying these by the carrier load for their fleets.

Elon did tweet later that they will have an option for solar cells, so just sitting in the sun they will charge up about 16-19 miles a day. For a work truck on the farm, or camping in the mountains, that's not bad.

Yes, I know the aesthetics aren't for everyone, but the first vehicles were eyesores to people used to horse and buggies, too.

[Frank S]

I doubt if more than 15% of the F150s were ever sold to anyone who uses them as work trucks in the rural farm type environment most are sold to fleets used a company trucks and are just driven around or to people who have no idea what a truck was designed and built for, mostly just weekenders and city dwellers who will use them to go hunting or to haul their play toys around with. Any truck sold to farmers or companies that use their trucks as work trucks opt for the heavier duty F250s and the super duty 350 through 550s While it is true enough that a 150 size class of today has a higher load and towing cap. then many 250 class truck of 30 years ago and more than the 350 size class did of the 60's, everything else has upgraded as well.
I have an old 1963 Dodge D300 that in its day was the boss hoss, but by todays standards the F150 or the Tesla Comino would walk it to the edge of the field and leave it in a ditch 6 ways from Sunday and back again.
The engine in my 93 F350 is in its 4th truck and has at least half a mill miles on it My 91 F250 has 244K on it both are those noisy diesels and really aren't all that powerful but they will go on forever, Will the Duracell in the Tesla last that long?

[cmarlow]

A lot of modern cars are pretty ugly too. I don't quite know why everything on the road has to look like it was an escaped extra from a Transformers movie.

[rallen]

I do know how a lot of you feel about the looks of the Cybertruck. When the new "aero" vehicles started coming out I couldn't tell them apart at all. But when I started to learn about physics, and aerodynamics, and how most of the horsepower of a vehicle is used up just trying to push through the air once it's going over 40 MPH, I realized why aerodynamic design is so important.

There is a 100 mpg car, The Aerocivic. It has NO distinguishing features save that it's the only one like it on the road.

As for the specs on the Tesla truck, they are almost twice that of my sisters Durango. Electric motors can usually be rebuilt, and battery packs can be replaced, as can motor controllers. So unless there's some real damage done to the chassis, rebuilding it shouldn't be that bad, cost wise.